Assignment Silver Scorpion

Sam Durell #35

by Edward S. Aarons

Strong spine with creasing and wear. Bright clean cover has moderate shelf, creasing, rubbing, edge wear. Light moisture stain on exterior pages. Text is perfect. Good reading copy. Same day shipping first class.

Genres: Espionage, Mystery, Crime

292 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1973

About the author

AKA Paul Ayres, Edward Ronns.

Edward Sidney Aarons (September 11, 1916 - June 16, 1975) was an American writer, author of more than 80 novels from 1936 until 1962. One of these was under the pseudonym "Paul Ayres" (Dead Heat), and 30 were written using the name "Edward Ronns". He also wrote numerous articles for detective magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Scarab.

Aarons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and earned a degree in Literature and History from Columbia University. He worked at various jobs to put himself through college, including jobs as a newspaper reporter and fisherman. In 1933, he won a short story contest as a student. In World War II he was in the United States Coast Guard, joining after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He finished his duty in 1945, having obtained the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Durell, agent of K-Section of the CIA is used to working alone. He’s a mission-oriented, no-nonsense, experienced top-notch agent. So when he finds himself on a case with a young, inexperienced female agent, he’s not exactly thrilled. They have been sent to the newly unified African country of Boganda where it appears over $300,000 of American and International aid has been diverted into the pockets of…somebody. Perhaps it’s Mokutu, the new country’s president, or perhaps it’s their military leader. Or perhaps it’s one or both of their wives who happen to be sisters and have every appearance of being professional pirates. The money, in the form of international credits, was intended for economic, social, and educational needs. But over the past six months, the credits have been converted, little by little, into hard cash for projects that were never completed, or never even begun. It was an international swindle of the first magnitude. Durell and his rookie partner must find out where the money’s gone.

Once again Edward S. Aarons (also known by the pseudonyms Paul Ayres and Edward Ronns) has provided an exciting adventure thriller in the lengthy “Assignment” series featuring agent Sam Durell. I think these later books in the series have a bit more TV-style adventure than the early ones, more action, more double-crosses, more peril in general. Durell ends up in a jail cell at least three times (maybe four) in this single novel. But it’s a fun ride all the way through. The author, as he has many times before, provides a realistic exotic setting for his characters to romp around in. While the country of Boganda is fictional, it seems much like many an African nation in the early 1970s when this was published.

I must say that the character of Sam Durell doesn’t come off well over the first half of the novel. The way he treats his female co-agent is abominable. I get that he is used to working alone, but the author seems to press this point too far in my opinion. Yes, I’m aware that this was written in the early 1970s, but he is arrogant, condescending, patronizing, and flat out rude to her in every interaction they have. He demands information from her but never stoops to answering her questions. He even physically slaps her twice (and another character once). I worry that if this book were a reader’s first introduction to the series, they would be so turned off as to quit half-way through and never want to read another one. Happily, I can report that this relationship changes significantly as the pages fly by. When two people face the kind of dangerous situations that these two face, they tend to gravitate towards each other. In fact, this becomes one of the major rewards of persevering through the book.

Looking forward to my next "Assignment" read.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining enough at the level of action and suspense. I've read better books by Aarons. But this one makes for a passable diversion if you're interested in adventure thrillers. This time, Aarons sends Sam Durrell to Africa to restore $300 million in stolen US aid money. While doing so, there is a bit of quality intrigue and double crosses. As is often the case, the atmosphere, here, is pretty convincing. For those unfamiliar with African politics/history, the fictional African state of Boganda is a mixture of newly independent countries. But it most strongly resembles one in particular, Democratic Republic of the Congo, or as it had recently been changed to just a couple of years before the publication of Assignment Silver Scorpion, Zaire. For the president of Boganda, Mokutu, just read that as Mobutu. Decent story. And once again, Aarons delves into some historical oddities to give a particular resonance of authenticity to his description of Zaire/Boganda.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of the Sam Durell novels I've read, having heard this was a particularly good one.

And it was indeed good. Durell is sent to an African nation where a rebel faction has been trapped inside a walled section of the capital city. His mission is to recover 300 MILLION dollars in aid money that has been converted into hard cash and stolen. The best intelligence places that money in a bank vault in the rebel sector.

Durell is forced to team up with an inexperienced female agent named Fitch, the Femme Fatale wife of the nation's president and two secret policemen who may or may not have their own agenda. They sneak into the walled area, but are seperated. Durell moves ahead with his mission, but ends up a prisoner along with Fitch. A greedy mercenary and yet another Femme Fatale enter the mix. While all this is going on, the rebel section of town suffers a morter barrage every hour on the hour as the government forces soften them up for eventual conquest.


The book maintains a high level of tension as Durell tries to complete his mission and suffers a number of setbacks (including enough captures and escapes to make this part of the book a drinking game). Despite being mostly a cold professional, we see Durell make a decision or two based on what's best for his friends rather than for the mission, but he still does not give up on recovering the missing cash.

Both the general situation and the fact that Durell doesn't always know who he can trust makes this a strong story and a fast, fun read. The characterizations are notable--both allies and enemies have well-defined personalities and motivations.